I'm plaing a piece by the same guy (Eric Whitacre, right?), called the Noisy Wheels of Joy. Anyway, I haven't personally played the Godzilla piece, but a professor at my college knows all about it. I'll ask him.
In the mean time, here's what I dug up on it:
por�ta�men�to A smooth uninterrupted glide in passing from one tone to another, especially with the voice or a bowed stringed instrument.
In singing, or in the use of the bow, a gradual carrying or lifting of the voice or sound very smoothly from one note to another; a gliding from tone to tone.
Could it be that Whitacre is asking for something similar to a glissando? What instrument is this for? I hope this helps, and I'll post again when I talk to the professor. Good luck!
Matthews
A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski
Yes I am also palying the Noisy Wheels of Joy in this concert and I think the portamento is also called a glissando. I have a recording of it and the clarinet player on the recording played the gliss/port from about a D(on the staff)all the way to an E above the staff. Did your instructor have any tips? Please share!! *Mo* [color:"blue"] [/color]
Yes, tis the same as a glissando and yes, it is the same as the opening of Rhapsody, save for the fact that the one I have to play must begin on a B and end on a high E...I have never played the Rhapsody in Blue, so I am ignorant as to how to pull this off! The concert is in two weeks. Any help? *Mo*
I have to play Godzilla as well, and it's going to take some serious practice to get the portamento. I can tell you how because I know how, but I haven't gotten it yet. Takes lots of practice, and probably daily work.
Start playing a high C (not mega high C, just regular high C -- an octave above tuning C). Then, forget everything you've learned about embouchre. You have to make it decay so that the pitch of the note drops. See how low you can get. In the day I've known how to do this (today, January 11th) I've gone from a C to a B. So, you then practice that every day -- decaying the embouchre as low as you can. You want your goal to be playing the C fingering while playing the sound of a G (the one just above the staff). Practice this every single day so that you can train your throat/face to play that low.
Now comes the tricky part. You'll play the B-C trill then the quarter note B, then start your chromatic scales. Slur it up to the F sharp. Lift all of your fingers and instead of playing the G, switch to the "G on C" embouchre. Now, all that training is kind of weird, because you want to go from nasty-ugly G embouchre and slowly tighten up to normal (so your fingering C and playing C at the same time) and as soon as you get up to it you play a D (lowering the pitch to C) and then gow up to the E and slide your embouchre back up...
That sounds really confusing but it's easier than it sounds. I mean, it's hard to do the portamento but the sliding up once you get it won't be so bad.
we're playing godzilla eats las vegas too, and i'd love to steal the solo away from the first chair clarinet by learning how to do this portamento. decay the embouchre how? and f-sharp top line of the staff, or the one above the high e?
Portamento is a bending of the pitch on an instrument, usually on a string instrument (ever heard those Bartok String Quartets?) and flute. However, on a clarinet, it sounds awesome and jazzy (Rhapsody in Blue of course). Yet, it's probably one of the most elusive techniques to learn. I've read and heard of several, but there are only two that I've come to use in my practice.
I've been practising portamento for about a year now. When I first began, I would slowly play every note from Tuning C to High C, trying to blen them together. Sometimes, I would slide my fingers off each key slowly to achieve the effect. Using a 'light touch' (as I've oftened heard it referred to) with your fingers, you can somewhat achieve a glissando. However, this isn't too effective for me.
I think the key is to bend the pitch as well as you can with your mouth, as someone posted earlier. For instance, have you ever fingered a note and sounded another? This is because you are adjusting your mouth to that particular pitch. If you notice, some pitches can be achieved without even fingering. I believe this is the key to portamento, or glissandi as some refer to it.
Practice playing a pitch (I start with high C) without fingering. Once you achieve this and can keep it in tune, now try lowering the pitch very slowly. This can be achieved by relaxing your mouth and letting the pitch get flatter and flatter. Try to bend the pitch as low as you can.
Now, finger a middle C and play it. As you play, try to bend the pitch higher (this will be hard at first). Take your time and practice everyday. You'll make the C get sharper and sharper, thus achieving a slow portamento up to your desired note. Be warned: Portamento is tricky... It's easy to start, but finishing it is very hard, especially on your mouth.
These are some of my own suggestions, of course. They are not THE only way to learn portamento. There are other ways to learn (Try ordering a clarinet technique book that features a section on Portamento. Yes there are books out there that can help you!) The two techniques I mention here have helped me and I hope they help others too! Practicing these two techniques everyday will help you achieve that awesome portamento that is featured in songs like Godzilla Eats Las Vegas and Rhapsody in Blue. Also, if you ever plan on playing jazz or dixieland, it can come in handy as well.
